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Ahimelech

Priest at Nob (1 Sam. 21: 1–6). During his flight from Saul, David, desperate for food, was given the bread of the presence by Ahimelech. The gesture is used by Jesus (Matt. 12: 3–4) in defence of the disciples who satisfied their hunger by plucking heads of corn on a Sabbath. Mark's reference (2: 26) to Abiathar as the high priest is a mistake which Matthew and Luke correct by omitting the name (Matt. 12: 4; Luke 6: 4).